


Thin Walls

by SapphicSaionjiz



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/F, Lesbians fall in love without seeing each other, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-26 20:30:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20395711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphicSaionjiz/pseuds/SapphicSaionjiz
Summary: Maki Harukawa is a toddler teacher, just a year out of college. She's having a bit of trouble making ends meet, and needs to downgrade from a decent apartment to... a less decent apartment, with less-than-ideal conditions, and paper-thin walls. So she ends up meeting her new neighbor without even seeing her face, making way for a very communicative friendship.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first work on AO3!! I just wanted to write some fluffy kaemaki stuff while I work on a larger, yet-to-be-released project. Updates on this might be a bit infrequent but this is just some fluffy friends to lovers stuff.

Maki sighed with relief as she surveyed her new home. Finally done unpacking. It was a small, fairly cramped apartment, but it was home. She'd had to move after her new job at a daycare wasn't enough to pay all of her many expenses. This new apartment was a downgrade, no two ways about it, but it was affordable, and one of her very few options. 

Maki was young, only about a year out of her associate's degree in early childhood education. She had been trying to find a steady job since then, and eventually ended up at a small daycare. The pay wasn't the best, so until she could get a raise, she decided to live in a smaller, more affordable apartment.

After fixing herself dinner as the sun lowered itself in the sky, and orange hues flooded in through the one window she had been granted, Maki decided to get some rest. She was tired from lifting and carrying heavy boxes all day, and then proceeding to unpack it all. Plus, she had work tomorrow, and dealing with young children was far from a relaxing job. She didn't trouble herself with changing into pajamas and simply laid down in her everyday clothes.

However, as she drifted off, she swore she could hear something. Was it... piano music? And it sounded so close, too...

Maki shot into a sitting position and glanced around. Nobody was there, and no piano. Her phone wasn't going off. She curiously pressed her ear against the wall, and the piano music grew just a smidge louder. Ah. It wasn't a ghost, just poor insulation and a musically inclined neighbor. Very musically inclined, actually. She didn't know the first thing about piano music, so she couldn't identify the composer or name of the song, but it paired with the setting sun very well. Slow, careful, melodious. Not a single sour note to be heard. After an exhausting day, this song was the perfect relaxant. Well, at least the neighbor didn't seem too burdensome.

Maki let her muscular body relax to the sound of the peaceful music, smiling for the first time in a very long, stressful day.

She swore that was the best she had slept in a long, long time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maki's first day of work while living in her new home causes some heightened stress.

Maki yawned very quietly as she arose for the morning, arching her back like a cat. No music was to be heard this morning. Her neighbor was probably asleep. Maki had woke up early, as usual. She was used to starting her day before even the sun. She silenced the alarm on her phone, which reminded her that it was 4:30 AM.

Getting ready never took her very long. She didn't bother with makeup, or anything of the sort. Maki would usually just brush her teeth and fix her hair into a bun for work, to ensure no children grabbed or pulled at it. The bulk of her morning routine was actually working out. She was quite muscular, and aimed to keep up such a physique by doing push-ups, sit-ups, and squats every morning. After her morning workout came a shower and a well-deserved but quick breakfast, and she was out the door to the nearest train station.

The commute to the daycare Maki worked at was long and arduous. There were always weird people on public transport, but she chose to endure and ignore. After the train was a 30-minute walk, and she was finally at work, in her daycare uniform and adorned with a name tag, of course.

Maki was quite favored among the children. She was strong and kind and rather soft around them, despite her usual stoic nature. Maki also enjoyed working with kids. They were always open and honest. They didn't dance around their feelings at all. If they liked something, they would say it. If they hated it, the world would know. They weren't at all superficial. It was refreshing, and way less complicated than adults.

"Miss Haru!!" She was snapped out of her thoughts as the first child ran in to greet her. "Harukawa" could be a lot for kids to pronounce, so she instructed them to simply call her Miss Haru. She smiled and got up to greet him back. She was in her element, and couldn't be happier.

—

After work, Maki found herself exhausted. She waved goodbye to the head teacher, and began her trek home, glad that she had chosen to bring her earbuds with her. After copious hours of interacting with rowdy kids and awful parents, Maki was free to be alone with the music blaring in her earbuds.

At home, however, was a different story. She was lucky to not have a neighbor to her left, but to her right was that ever so musically inclined neighbor, playing the piano again. A little piano once in a while was welcome, but Maki was tired by now and just wanted to eat, watch some TV and go to bed. The lively and excited piano music didn't match her mood at all. She tried to ignore it at first and went about her evening making dinner and eating it without much noise of her own, but quickly grew tired of the incessant music, and hit her fist against the wall with a loud, but restrained THUD.

The music immediately stopped. Whoever was playing it must have taken the hint. Maki sighed. She felt a little bad for silencing the lively musician, but work had her tired, the move had her stressed, and all she wanted was some peace in her apartment. She went back to eating, hoping for a calming night full of stars.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maki and her new neighbor finally get talking.

It had been a few days since Maki had silenced the once-lively musician who lived next door, and she had barely heard a peep since. She felt a bit guilty about punching the wall now, and wondered if she should confront her neighbor or not. After all, it may be best to apologize for such a brash reaction. Her head swirling, Maki changed out of her work uniform, which consisted of an uncomfortable collared green shirt with a name tag and khaki pants, and laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Granted, it was too early to sleep, but she had little idea how to occupy her mind for now.

Though the piano music was a start.

The slow, sorrowful music began, tentative hands gently pressing each key. It surprised Maki, that her neighbor was playing again. Especially something so... sad sounding. She had heard classical music, and lively music... swing probably, but not something so soft and depressing. Even Maki was wracked with emotion as she immersed herself in the seemingly heartfelt melody. It was as though her neighbor's music had the power to bring to the surface every emotion Maki had so deeply and carefully buried. She sat for a few minutes, listening to the faint sounds of the melancholic melody. However, it was too quiet for her liking. The young woman hardly even registered what she was doing, moving toward the wall in which the music was most audible. She had her back to it, and her head hit the wall with a thud as she slid down.

Maki paused at the sound, not intending to make such a noise. She had simply wished to be closer to the music, which had stopped abruptly in the wake of such noise. Maki panicked internally, hardly acknowledging her minor pain as she worried that the pianist had assumed the thump of her head against the wall was another angry hit against the thin material, a call for silence. There was a pause as she waited with bated breath for the music to come back, hoping her neighbor had not been deterred.

"...Are you okay?" Came the voice, unexpectedly. It was unmistakably feminine, high-pitched and sugar-sweet.

Maki, caught off guard, stumbled through the response. "I'm, uh, okay. Just hit my head." She mumbled, rubbing her sore head. That would probably leave a bump.

"Oh dear! You should get some ice, make sure it's nothing serious!" Genuine concern seeped from this mysterious voice. "It's alright. I'll live." Maki replied quickly. She wasn't used to this kind of concern. "I've been through worse than a little head bump."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't take care of it!" The voice replied, and Maki found herself too tired to perpetuate any sort of argument with her neighbor, deciding to just give in. "Fine, fine. I'll ice it." She sighed.

"Good! Remember to take care of yourself!!"

Maki smiled very faintly to herself as she assembled a makeshift ice pack- some cubes from her ice tray bound in a paper towel. What an odd neighbor.

At least they were pleasantly odd.

As she finished making her ice pack, the voice spoke again. "...I'm Kaede, by the way."

"Maki Harukawa."

"Nice to meet you, Maki!" The chipper voice exclaimed. 

"Yeah... nice to meet you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw the first chapter of my Danganronpa 2 Rewrite is out it would be extremely epic of you guys to check it out hehe,,, sorry for the wait on this chapter ^^;


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maki finds a strange little gift waiting outside her apartment door one day after work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if any of you got the notif that this updated a day or two ago only to find literally nothing ;; I uploaded a chapter that I had already uploaded without realizing it (I draft on a separate site), I'm very sorry! Here's the actual new chapter!!!!

When Maki returned from work the next day, she was greeted by a sight most odd. Outside her door was a little slip of paper. Probably a letter- though from who exactly, she wasn't sure. She didn't expect her parents to write to her at all- and if they did, she would probably just throw it out. She picked it up, and saw in neat little letters:

'I'm sorry I made you hit your head on the wall, get well soon!' The words were written in cursive with a pink pen and signed by Kaede. Maki chuckled, her eyes roaming over the little doodles Kaede had added to fill space. Stars, cats and music notes. She couldn't believe that her neighbor had sent her a get well soon card after hitting her head- though guilt probably was a factor. She slipped the handmade card into her pocket and went inside, deciding to help her neighbor clear her conscience later.

About an hour later, she heard the door next door open and close. She wasn't sure if that was Kaede entering or leaving the house, so she waited a moment, then decided to take the chance. "Kaede? Are you home?" Maki called.

"Yep! I just got back from the Post Office!" That same chipper voice called back through the wall. "Speaking of um, letters, did you get the one I wrote you?" Came her addendum, brimming with hope.

"Yeah, I did. You know you didn't need to write me a card just because I hit my head, right?" Maki replied, who had found a seat next to the wall.

"I know, but I felt bad... I made you hit your head and all, and I felt you needed some sort of apology from me. I really didn't mean to hurt you..."

Maki was surprised by Kaede's words. She was genuinely upset over this, something Maki simply wasn't used to seeing outside of her workplace. She paused, not knowing how to remedy this. She couldn't just talk to Kaede like a kid, that would sound disrespectful... Maki decided to take the same idea from what she told children and re-word it for an adult.

"It's okay, really. It wasn't your fault. You had no idea of predicting what I would do, and you shouldn't be shouldering any blame for something with a consequence you couldn't foresee." She did her best to emphasize the fact that she was wording this in the most adult way she could, not wanting to offend her new neighbor. There was a pause as Maki waited with bated breath.

"Wow, that was... really wise... thank you, Maki." She could literally hear the smile in Kaede's honey-sweet voice. "That was really nice of you."

"Ah, yeah... don't mention it." Came her quick reply. "I work with kids, so I'm kind of used to the whole diplomacy thing."

"Kids? Oh, are you a babysitter?" Kaede asked excitedly.

"Babysitter? _God, no._ Babies are so obnoxious, and babysitters make dirt-cheap wages. I work with toddlers. I'm a toddler teacher at a daycare." She explained. Maki had become engrossed in the conversation and had moved from the floor to her bed, which happened to be against the wall closest to Kaede- located at the far right of her apartment.

"I guess you have a point... I babysat a few times when I was younger, and I didn't really get paid a lot... but what's it like working with toddlers?" Her neighbor seemed particularly full of curiosity today- not that Maki minded, of course. She had never really been asked about her work. It was new, but pleasant.  
"Oh, uh... it's pretty nice. Working with them is easier than you'd expect. Definitely has its ups and downs, but I like it a lot. Wouldn't trade my job for anything else in the world." She smiled. Maki wasn't used to being so... smiley. Something about Kaede's cheerful demeanor was almost infectious. "What do you do, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Well, I'm still in college right now, so I only work part-time, but I'm a florist! I want to perform more in the future, so I probably won't keep the job after I graduate, but it's so nice being surrounded by flowers. It's a great part-time job!" She chirped. Maki couldn't say she was very surprised. She had never even seen Kaede, but still knew that she was probably the ideal florist with such a bubbly, creative personality.

"Oh! speaking of which, I have class and a shift tomorrow, so I probably should get some sleep. I'm gonna go get ready for bed, okay? Goodnight, Maki!" Came Kaede's parting words.

"Goodnight, Kaede."


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maki teaches Kaede how to cook.

"Hey, Maki...?" Maki heard Kaede's voice one day as she was cutting vegetables. Maki wasn't a stellar chef, but she could do things like make boxed mac n' cheese for her students who had forgotten to bring a lunch to daycare, or heat up some prepackaged ramen. 

"Hm? What is it?" The knife in her hands paused, just as it was about to bring a most cruel end to a tomato.

"Are you cooking right now?" The woman's sweet voice permeated Maki's apartment once again, due to the paper-thin wall between them.

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I was making a salad. Was I cutting too loud?" Maki set the knife down. Her cuts were always precise, but often rather loud as the knife clacked against the cutting board, something her parents had scolded her for a great many times as a young child.

"No, that's not it! I was just wondering if you could um, give me a few pointers on cooking..? I usually order takeout, I'm a pretty bad chef." Kaede chuckled halfheartedly. It was worded like a joke, but it seemed to cause Kaede at least some degree of discomfort or insecurity, judging by her tone of voice.

"You don't know how to cook and you live alone?" Maki asked. She didn't mean it in a rude way, she was just inclined to bluntness, and surprised at the revelation. Why move out on your own if you couldn't cook for yourself?

"Yeah... it's kinda silly, I know... I just never really focused on much other than playing the piano, I guess. I can play piano really good, and I know plenty of songs, but when I'm cooking I usually can't manage more than some toast or a microwave meal." Maki's neighbor explained. In the time it took her to reveal this, Maki had brought the aforementioned end to a passable quality tomato and littered the slices among a tupperware container filled with lettuce. Her lunch for tomorrow. She always made a little extra in case one of her students needed it.

"I'm not exactly a prodigy... but I know how to make miso soup. I can teach you that if you want." She offered, placing the lid on her tupperware container. Lunch for tomorrow was secured.

"Sure! That sounds great!" Kaede spoke gleefully. Perhaps she hadn't expected Maki to accept her request. Maki herself didn't really expect it. But Kaede was a sweet woman, someone who she had chatted to a bit in fragments over the past few days, usually about what they were doing or going to do the next day. She seemed well-intentioned and harmless, though Maki wasn't going to drop her guard just based on a few days' worth of interaction. She hadn't even seen what Kaede looked like yet, so she was very hesitant to be too open around her.

"Okay, so first, just grab some miso paste, tofu green onions, and... water, since this is a soup..." Maki wasn't the best at explaining how to cook, and she was just mostly winging this recipe from the way she had prepared it at home years ago. Despite being a cook who was just slightly below average, she remembered cooking often at home, and even more often at the orphanage she later grew up in.

After Kaede had prepared her very rudimentary soup, she thanked Maki for her help. It was apparently edible, nothing stellar and nothing so abhorrent one could not look at it. About expected of a first-timer. Conversation dropped off since Kaede had begun eating.

While Maki was no longer very talkative, she couldn't help but feel a little proud of herself for helping Kaede. Kaede especially seemed absolutely jovial over it, as she ended the night with a cheerful tune that sounded like something you'd hear in a 50's bar.

Maki expected that to be the end of it, but when she returned from work the next morning, she found a plastic container waiting at her door with a note written in the same neat, familiar handwriting.

'I think I made a little too much of this miso soup yesterday! Since you helped me make it, I decided to share some with you! Tell me what you think when you get home! :)

\- Kaede'

Maki furrowed her brow at this. Too much soup...? Kaede hadn't mentioned that before, which made her a bit cautious, but she took the meal inside regardless.

Once reheated, Maki tried some and determined that it was, well, rather okay. The memories attached to the food weren't her favorite, but the food was edible and the gesture was generous.e And it wasn't poisoned, as Maki had half-suspected it was due to what seemed like a bold-faced lie on Kaede's part. She'd remember to thank her later, as, judging by the silence between the apartments, Kaede wasn't home.

"What a strange girl..." Maki mumbled to herself.


End file.
